Police have arrested a man after two people were injured by crossbow bolts in Shoreditch.
Officers arrested a 47-year-old man in Shoreditch late last night.
He was searched and a knuckle duster and a bottle containing a substance were found. The man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Two people were injured after being shot with a crossbow on this estate in Shoreditch
Two days after Nazarine Cazley, 44, was attacked, her husband put up signs (pictured) around Arnold Circus, in Shoreditch, asking for help and offering a cash reward to get ‘justice’
Police are investigating attacks involving a crossbow (stock picture of that type of weapon)
Scotland Yard said the man was in custody at an east London police station and both of the victims in the two incidents were being kept informed.
Tests were being carried out on crossbow bolts used in the attacks which were fired into the neck of a 20-year-old man and harpooned Nazarine Cazley, 44, in the head near her front door – 10 days apart from one another.
The mother-of-two miraculously survived having been rushed to hospital with the bolt still embedded into the back of her skull. Her husband says she is now ‘living in fear’ as the attacker is still roaming free.
She was the first victim of the crossbow ‘sniper’ in Arnold Circus, on the Boundary estate, where people have levelled criticism at the Metropolitan Police – accusing officers of not initially taking the attack seriously.
Ten days later, the crossbow sniper took aim again when a man aged in his twenties was hit in the neck as he sat on a bench in the Arnold Circus gardens – just 200 yards away from the spot where Mrs Cazley was struck.
Her husband Clifton put up signs around Arnold Circus two days after the first attack, asking for help and offering a cash reward to get ‘justice’.
But he says instead of calls offering assistance, he only received a call from the police asking him to take down the signs.
Speaking to The Times, he said he was with his son, 18, at their home when he heard his wife screaming his name from the street below.
The carer had been shot in the back of the head by a crossbow bolt while walking home from work on March 4, at 7.44pm.
He described the bolt as having a red and black shaft with a hook on the end.
While Mrs Cazley’s injuries are not life-changing, according to the police, her husband said she is in severe pain and is too terrified to venture outside.
Subera Rabby, speaking to Sky News, called an ambulance for Mrs Cazley.
She said: ‘The first thing was hearing the screaming, I came out, blood stain on the floor, there was a crossbow [bolt] sticking out of her head.
‘It was really really horrific, I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s so scary, I’m frightened for my kids, for myself.’The fact the second incident has now happened, I’m now thinking it could have been any of us.’
Det Chief Supt James Conway (pictured, right), responsible for policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets,says neighbourhood teams are carrying out ‘reassurance patrols’
Subera Rabby, who called an ambulance, said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s so scary’
Susanna Kow, who chairs the Boundary Tenants and Residents Association, told the BBC how parents living there were ‘really spooked’ following the second attack.
She said: ‘I don’t know how we’re going to live our lives, this is the crossroads that joins all the blocks together.’
Local resident Jake Lowry said there is a huge community of young families living in the area, adding: ‘It really needs to be dealt with very quickly.’
Residents in Shoreditch have spoken of changing their usual walking routes due to fears that the crossbow ‘sniper’ could strike again.
Despite ministers considering new legislation which would place crossbows under similar regulations to guns, the weapons are currently surprisingly easy to purchase online.
Though it’s illegal for anyone under 18 to purchase or possess a crossbow, age verification checks can be easily swerved on retail sites.
Some crossbows advertising 6.3-inch, ‘high-impact’ aluminium bolts are available for purchase on Amazon for under £30.
In a separate incident in January, Bryce Hodgson, 30, was shot dead by police after he broke into a house in south-east London armed with weapons including a crossbow and a sword.
Officers are keeping an open mind regarding the motive for the Shoreditch attacks.
Det Chief Supt James Conway, responsible for policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: ‘I’m acutely aware of the level of concern in the community following these awful attacks.
‘Since the first incident the police response has been immediate and dynamic, with my detectives leading a significant investigation involving CCTV trawls, intelligence and forensic work, whilst my neighbourhood teams have been engaged in public appeals and reassurance patrols.
‘The arrest last night was a significant development in our investigation, but this remains a complex and ongoing policing operation.
‘I can also confirm that our enquiries led to the seizure of another crossbow weapon in the period between the two attacks, which is now being dealt with as part of a separate investigation.
‘I’d like to thank local people for their valuable support and would urge anyone still yet to talk to police to do so as soon as possible. We have received significant and crucial support from our local communities to date.’
Anyone with information about either incident is urged to call 101 quoting Operation Goldwater or else contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.